Château de Duras is located in the town of Duras, in the department of

Lot-et-Garonne Lot-et-Garonne (, oc, Òlt e Garona) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the rivers Lot and Garonne, it had a population of 331,271 in 2019.Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by t ...

, France. The castle was classified as a historic monument in 1970.

History

The origin of the occupation of the site was the church of Saint-Ayrard (now demolished), which was located 1200m from the castle. The church was given in 977 to the Abbey of La Réole by Gombaud, Bishop of Vasconie and Guillaume, Duke of Gascony. In 1087, Bertrand de Taillecavat gave a quarter of the church of Saint-Ayrard to the abbey of La Réole. In 1127 the priory of Saint-Ayrard's villa is destroyed by the Viscount of Besamont. A house and a chapel was then built on the current site of the castle. A charter of 1233 attributed to the prior of La Réole the rights to the city of Duras, as he owned the priory of Saint-Ayrard. The charter is signed by Geraud de Malemort, Archbishop of Bordeaux, Raymond, Bishop of Agen and Guillaume de Bouville, Lord of Duras. The first castle of Duras dates from the 12th century and was built on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Dropt valley. The castle belonged to the family of Bouville. The castle was captured in 1254, from the Viscounts of Benauges and Bezaume by King

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...

after a revolt of the Gascon lords. He passed the castle to his son, the future

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...

References

* Philippe Lauzun (1847-1920), ''Le château de Duras'', p. 321-333, Revue de l'Agenais, 1920, tome 4
( ''lire en ligne'' )
* Élodie Pignol, ''101 - Duras, château'', p. 132-133, revue ''Le Festin'', Hors série ''Le Lot-et-Garonne en 101 sites et monuments'', année 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau de Duras (France) Châteaux in Lot-et-Garonne